A Technical Manager's Perspective

Micro-blogging

I have been following and participating on Twitter lately and can see real value in the communication on twitter. Many folks including myself poo-pooed twitter, but after taking a second look and participating in the conversation I am starting to like it.

I started out just following a number of Internet Famous folks, but after a while I dropped a large number of them because they had nothing to say and were boring me. After Podcamp I added a number folks who were at Podcamp and this is were my participation and conversation has really risen. I heard about TweetDeck at Podcamp, installed it and find it a great interface for following twitter conversations.

Last weekend I also created an Identi.ca account and hope to setup my own Identi.ca installation to see how useful it could be at MIT. I am curious about the flexibility and security around this distributed solution. My interest in Microblogging started last month when I heard Joe Cascio’s Distributed Micro blogging talk at Ignite Boston, and then again when Joe gave a similar talk at Podcamp Boston 3. I like the distributed model of Identi.ca, as it pushes the load out to the edges of the network, however I as others have said, we need more than just a distributed model, we need some sort of glue or federation that allows all distributed installations to communicate together. Rob Diana of Regular Geek (Twitter/FriendFeed) outlined Federation on the Louisgray.com blog. Rob outlines how federation is more important than just distribution ...

Federation is different from distributed in one simple sense. Federation requires a full copy of the entire system. Federation is the cooperation between various systems to act as one.   .....

The one part of the federation that is missing is the routing between servers. This can be accomplished by following the DNS model. A local DNS server has a reference to its parent or master server. This allows new servers to be built and their location and IP address propagated to other servers. This is a very effective solution and it has worked for several years.

However, my thought is that we need both a distributed model and some sort of central federation, much like DNS which uses both a distributed model within each domain along with a central (federated) root-server for directing DNS traffic to the correct authoritative domain.

Twitter's poor reliability has lead many to start looking for other alternatives, and I would bet on some sort of distributed model, federated or not to gain some ground in this space.

 

Technorati Tags: micro-blogging,twitter,identi.ca,Podcamp Boston

Podcamp Boston 3 Wrap-Up - PCB3

I spent the weekend at Podcamp Boston 3 and really enjoyed myself.

Saturday, day one of Podcamp was interesting and my highlight was a great open discussion about old media and new media. We didn’t solve anything but acknowledged the lack of direction in the newspaper and tv industry toward New Media.

I struggled with connectivity problems all day and I do think that reduced the buzz and networking throughout the day. Most of the scheduling was communicated via Google Docs and twitter, and the only way to connect was via a smart phone, an evdo device.

Podcamp day two started out much better. Right away I could get online and there was an obvious spark in the air. Both Chris Brogan and Christopher S. Penn spoke about connecting with others and it really opened things up.

Three different discussions of interest for me were Joe Cascio’s Distributed Micro blogging discussion, Jacqueline Prescott's building engagement and collaboration discussion and Ben Grossman and Marta Kagan discussion about Making a Case for Social Media.

Here are my take away's from the day:

Twitter is the big name in the micro-blogging space but needs to work on improving performance and availability. Identi.ca is an open source startup and using Laconica software, which offers real promise in a distributed micro-blogging model. Why is this important, because using a distributed micro-blogging model with multiple installation points will spread the load and redundancy, and allow companies to offer specialize micro-blogging sites for their staff and the world.

I participated in the 2.0 discussion and came away with some thoughts on building engagement and collaboration. You first need to understanding what you are trying to accomplish, communicate what you are trying to do, communicate the impact, and talk about how it will make a change. Stop talking about Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 and instead talk about collaborative strategies and how they can help your business.

I have written about how Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 is a shift in computing, and what I heard multiple times at Podcamp Boston 3 is how Social Media is a shift in communications, so concentrate on the communication and not on the Technology.

I also met many new folks at this Podcamp and want to say thank-you to everyone for being so open and friendly. Also, I want to extend and additional thank-you to the organizers of PodCamp Boston 3 - Christopher S. Penn, Chris Brogan, Chel Pixie, Sooz, Steve Sherlock, Doug Haslam, Whitney Hoffman. You folks did a tremendous job, so I Thank-you.

 

Technorati Tags: pcb3,Podcamp Boston,Social Media,communications

Off to Boston Podcamp 3

I will be leading a discussion on "The Open Web and the Enterprise"

Here are the slideshow for our discussion ...

Open Web and the Enterprise

view presentation (tags: open web enterprise 2.0)

 

Technorati Tags: Podcamp Boston,Open Web,Enterprise 2.0,Web 2.0

Podcamp Boston 3

 

 

Heading to Podcamp Boston 3 next week and really looking forward to it.

Christopher Penn, Chris Brogan, Whitney Hoffman and a host of others spend a lot of time preparing, planning and working to make this event a success. Podcamp is not your usual conference, but instead it is an Unconference, which is an open participant driven conference.

This Podcamp Unconference is more the just a gathering the geeks taking about Podcasting, but instead it's a group of folks taking about all facets of Social Media and the next phase of the web.

I am leading a discussion on "The Open Web and the Enterprise" and will post a link to my slideshow later in the week.

If you are interested in attending or investigating Podcamp Boston, please follow this link to Podcamp Boston 3.

Technorati Tags: Podcamp Boston

The Open Web Movement

Technorati Tags: Open Web,Web 2.0

I am starting to hear a lot of references to the Open Web, and like most folks, I think I understand the reference, however I dug a little deeper and found three posts that clarify the Open Web, and wanted to share them with you along with my thoughts on the Open Web.

The first and most descriptive post is from Brad Neuberg and the Coding in Paradise blog. Brad, works for Google, and outlines 10 philosophies of the Open Web that he feels are important. Here is a reference to Brad's post along with the 10 philosophies of the Open Web:

Decentralization, Transparency, Hackability, Openness,

From Gift Economies to Free Markets, Third-Party Integration,

Third-Party Innovation, Civil Society and Discourse, 

Two-Way Communication, End-User Usability and Integration

Within these philosophies, Brad makes the point of openness and talks about adopting Open Source Strategies and not getting hung up on the proprietary strategies of the past, but instead giving the web an open enough infrastructure to allow it to grow and evolve over time. 

My next example is from David Eaves who is an Independent Writer who states ....

"The open web is a social value. It’s not a fact, it’s not necessity, and it’s not a requirement. It’s a value - one that a growing community of people believe in and are willing to fight for."

David see's the Open Web as a Social Movement, a movement of Open Source practices that have gained acceptance through maturity and market acceptance. It is obvious that David is passionate about moving the Open Web forward, and he asks others in this Social Movement  ....

"... could we push ourselves harder? Are we creating enough hooks for new participants to latch on to? Are we creating an ecosystem where non-coders, but passionate open web believers, can find a niche? What are the big harry audacious goals that a larger community can get behind, and support? "

You can find David's post here.

My next example is Mark Pilgrim of Google. Mark's post and video talk about Google's Doctype Project, however he describes Doctype as part of the Open Web and touches on the Open Web before diving into Doctype: 

"The open web is the web built on open standards: HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and more. The open web is a beautiful soup of barely compatible clients and servers. It comprises billions of pages, millions of users, and thousands of browser-based applications. You can access the open web with open source and proprietary browsers, on open source and proprietary operating systems, on open source and proprietary hardware."

In Mark's post and video, he outlines the Open Web as having both proprietary and non-proprietary browsers, and in his video he stresses the point of developing solutions for a more Open Web with open browsers and less reliance on proprietary solutions.

All three posts outline features and philosophies of the Open Web, and identify a reliance on Open Source strategies to ensure a sustained growth in the Open Web.

When I think of the Open Web, it goes something like this ...

The Open Web is the infrastructure for the delivery of open web applications, functions, tools and api's to the world, through the use of Open Source strategies, standards and technologies.

I see the total reliance on Open Source strategies as a great goal for the Open Web, however, is it an attainable goal? Maybe it does not have to be reachable as long as it remains a goal and contributes to the evolution of the web.

TheSocialWeb.tv Pilot

Social this and Social that, everyone is jumping on the Social Bandwagon, including ME.

Social networking is fast becoming more than just a destination, it is becoming a mashable feature in a lot of products. This is the evolution of the web, with more Social Collaborative features, functions and places to go.

You may be a little overwhelmed by all this social media, social networking talk, but don't be, instead move to the parts that interest you, and ignore the rest. 

Here is a nice little video to help you on your journey of consuming social information. It features a discussion by David Recordon from Six Apart and John Mcrea and Joseph Smarr from Plaxo, talking about their new ipTV  show called thesocialweb.tv.

Here is the first episode and well worth checking out ....